Denny Hamlin has taken another shot at NASCAR after questioning its officiating decisions following the controversial finish to the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver criticized NASCAR’s explanation of several incidents involving the double-yellow line during the final lap, accusing officials of inconsistency in their decisions involving Kyle Larson, Austin Hill and Todd Gilliland.

“My goodness. This is horrible officiating or horrible comms. I think it might be both,” Hamlin wrote on X after The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck shared a summary of NASCAR’s explanation from the latest episode of Hauler Talk.

Denny Hamlin Questions NASCAR’s Double-Yellow Line Decisions

NASCAR explained that a driver must go completely below the double-yellow line, improve their position and not be forced below the line for a penalty to apply.

Larson, who won at Talladega on October 25, was not penalized because NASCAR determined that he had remained on the yellow line rather than going completely below it.

However, Austin Hill’s incident raised further questions. NASCAR believed Hill went below the line himself while improving his position, rather than being forced down by Larson. Officials indicated that Hill would likely have received a black flag if he had not already finished as the last car on the lead lap.

Ross Chastain and Carson Hocevar, meanwhile, escaped penalties because NASCAR determined that Gilliland had forced them below the line.

Officials considered penalizing Gilliland but ultimately decided against it because they could not conclusively establish whether he had deliberately forced the two drivers below the line.

That explanation prompted Hamlin to question NASCAR’s use of intent in making the decision.

“Jeff, I’m dying to know. Since when does ‘intent’ matter? I specifically remember NSC saying intent doesn’t matter in these situations. Well, until now,” Hamlin wrote in a separate response to Gluck.

Mike Forde Responds as Hamlin Pushes Back

The exchange took another turn when NASCAR communications executive Mike Forde responded to Hamlin’s criticism with a brief message: “Thanks for listening.”

Hamlin quickly clarified that he had not listened to the episode himself. Instead, he had read Gluck’s summary of NASCAR’s explanation.

“I didn’t. I read. Which in case im guessing Jeff just misquoted you,” Hamlin replied.

With Larson’s victory standing, the controversy has renewed scrutiny of NASCAR’s double-yellow line rule and the consistency of its enforcement at superspeedway races.